Approximately 18 months after the relaunch of Fiji Airways, the carrier has embarked on an ambitious new branding campaign aimed at showcasing the warmth and hospitality of Fijian culture.
Debuting late last month and entitled “Welcome to Our Home,” the initiative centers around a series of online videos featuring three real-life families traveling to and from Fiji for an overdue home-away-from-home vacation. Each family was nominated by friends earlier this fall and has dealt with recent challenges meriting a hosted trip either to or from Fiji. The collection of touching videos chronicle the families’ journeys.
“They all bring to life our brand attributes of being truly, authentically Fijian and showing how, as Fijians, we treat passengers as family,” Fiji Airways CEO Stefan Pichler said of the videos in an email to TravelAge West. “And at 30,000 feet in the air, you are really in our home.”
As the small country’s national carrier, known as Air Pacific prior to June 2013, Fiji Airways has been busy acquiring new A330 aircraft and improving operations and onboard service over the past year and a half, according to Pichler.
“With that done now, our focus shifts to really building our brand, loading it with all the attributes that will help us reach our goal of being the world’s best boutique airline,” he said.
Fiji Airways has also dedicated new A330s to the carrier’s daily service between Los Angeles and Nadi International Airport in Fiji.
“These are conveniently timed for overnight flights, so you really are leaving LA and waking up in paradise,” Pichler said. “We have recently overhauled our onboard meals and entertainment in both business and economy classes, and we offer something no [other] airline does. This is a 100percent Fijian cabin crew who offer an onboard service experience with an authenticity that is uniquely Fijian.”
It’s precisely that point of separation that Fiji Airways hopes to get across in its recent rebranding initiative, Pichler said.
“Welcome to Our Home is not a radical change,” he continued. “We have merely tapped into a natural attribute of ourselves to show how we can differentiate our brand from the clutter of classic commercial airliners.”
When asked why the company decided an online video campaign was the best way to communicate with potential customers and travelers, Pichler said the company’s research showed that online video connects with consumers at all stages of travel.
“When the video is both quality and emotive, people share that content,” he explained. “Online video can ignite the dream to travel for so many people — if it connects emotionally, informs and is worth sharing.”
Fiji Airways is the only carrier offering direct service between North America and Fiji and transports more than 64 percent of all the visitors who travel to the country annually.
The Details
Fiji Airwaysourhome.fijiairways.com
